This week we introduce, certified nutritionist, award winning speaker, best selling author, running coach, certified rafting guide, AND the new host of the Run To The Top podcast, Stephanie Atwood.

Stephanie is the founder of Go Wow Living and host of the “Active After 35 Thrive To 105” podcast. In this episode, we learn about her background and listen as she shares secrets she’s learned from helping other runners throughout her career. She has a great perspective on redefining success and failure and believes in creating different successes. It’s easy to forget that the very act of stretching out of comfort zone, even if we fall short of our ideal goals, is still a worthy accomplishment.

Butch Cassidy counseled the Sundance Kid in the movie’s opening, “Every day you live, you get older.” and the same is true for runners. However, there comes a day, a session or a race where we have to accept that our fastest days may be behind us. This doesn’t mean we need to stop running or competing, but a healthy mental paradigm shift is sometimes needed to refocus our motivation to stay active as we age.

In our busy and hectic lives, it’s easy to overemphasize training to the point where it becomes unhealthily all-consuming. Stephanie talks about the concept of “Periodization”, which allows people to build up for a couple goals, but also structure down time to enjoy other important areas of our lives.

Please join us in welcoming Stephanie as we are sure her insight and experience will help you become, not just a better runner, but a better, happier and healthier you.

We’re doing something a little different today on Run To The Top and we hope you find it helpful. One of our athletes, Wayne Jimenez, recently DNF’d a marathon at mile 16 and was not sure why. He has completed marathons and half-Iron Mans, but just over halfway through this race he could not keep going and he’s eager to get back in a marathon ASAP since he still feels pretty strong from all his training. But, he’s concerned about racing too soon.

Coach Jeff engages Wayne in a discussion to unpack what happened during, and more importantly prior to, the race to help identify the root cause of the issue and to determine when Wayne should make his way into his next corral.

We hope you enjoy listening to this conversation and find some takeaways that help you in your training. We would also love to know what you think of this podcast format as well as any suggestions you have for Run To The Top in general.

We’ve long known the biggest barriers in running are those we create in our own heads, but according to Alex Hutchinson and the latest research, there are ways we can bypass these barriers to push farther and faster.

A National Magazine Award-winning journalist, Alex’s work revolves mostly around the science of endurance, and there’s a pretty good chance you’ve read some of his stuff. He contributes to Runner’s World, the New York Times, the New Yorker, and he also has his own column in Outside Magazine called Sweat Science.

In this episode, Alex will share with us a little about his upcoming book,ENDURE: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance.

In the book, Alex explores thecontroversial new science of endurance that suggests our brains are just as responsible as our bodies for the physical obstacles we encounter in running.

In other words, most of the limits we experience are illusionary, and, with some groundbreaking techniques Alex will share with us today, we can actually push through these imaginary limits to unearth our true physical capabilities.

If an airplane wing is too rigid, the plane will crash, and according to author and marathoner Duncan Larkin, the same is true for us runners.

When we adhere too closely to our training plans or even, as Duncan says, the tenets of his own books, we don’t leave room for two crucial details: one, that each of our bodies is different and possesses its own unique ebb and flow and two, we’re just plain busy.

For most of us, running isn’t our number one priority and our schedules don’t always perfectly complement our training - and that’s okay.

However, to optimize our performance and steer clear of injury, it’s important to be flexible and emphasize quality over quantity in training, and that’s the basis of Duncan’s new book,The 30-Minute Runner: Smart Training for Busy Beginners.

Duncan writes forOutside Magazine, Runner's World, and ESPN to name a few, and he wason the showin 2017 to talk about his second newest bookRun Simple: A Minimalist Approach to Fitness and Wellbeing.

Inthis episode, Duncan shares with us a little about his new book and his tips for maximizing training when you lead a busy life (which probably applies to you if I had to guess).

Lucky for us, the opposite is true for the founders of November Project, a fitness movement popularly known as the “Fight Club” of running clubs for its intense workouts, free membership, and tribe mentality.

Following their days rowing crew for Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, Bojan Mandaric and Brogan Graham found themselves struggling to stay in shape in the cold New England months and the absence of a structured exercise regiment.

Then one night in 2011 over a couple of beers, they decided to make a pact: every morning for that month of November, they would meet at 6:30am and workout together.

Running hill repeats, bounding up the stairs of Harvard Stadium, dropping to the ground for the occasional pushups - the city was their gym, and the results were significant.

After a few months, Bojan and Brogan decided to throw out a few invites on Twitter, and the rest is history.

November Project now has tribes in 45 cities all over the world with its biggest meetups bringing together upwards of 1500 people for a single morning workout.

Here Bojan and Brogan share a little about their story, how November Project works, and what you can gain from joining a tribe near you.

****This episode includes some inappropriate language - just a heads up.****

While most of us know we need to do strength work to truly see results, according to Jay Dicharry, this is a waste of time without also practicing movement and mobility.

One of America’s leading physical therapists and author ofAnatomy for Runners, Jay established his reputation as an expert in biomechanical analysis as Director of the University of Virginia’s SPEED Clinic.

Today, athletes from all over travel to his REP Lab in Bend Oregon where Jay blends clinical practice and engineering to better understand overuse injuries.

But what sets Jay apart from traditional therapy? He works to correct imbalances before they become a problem, and to do that he helps runners rewire their body-brain movement patterns.

In this episode, Jay will share a little about his new book,Running Rewired, explain how we can rediscover our body-brain movement patterns, and dispel the myths that pervade both the shoe and physical therapy industries.

As we enter the bell lap for 2017, I wanted to do something a little special for this week’s episode.

Just as it’s good to reflect back on a season and extract all the learning moments, I wanted to reflect back on the best lessons from Run to the Top this year, and to do that I asked for your help.

Today’s show will include Run to the Top’s greatest hits of 2017 as chosen by our very own listeners: runners who made incredible strides mentally and physically thanks to the wisdom, inspiration, and perspective shared in this year’s interviews.

In this podcast, those runners will share their favorite episodes and what they gained from them followed by a little segment from each show.

Whether these episodes are new to you or you’ve heard them before, I hope the lessons within both help you reflect back on 2017 and serve as a springboard into your best year yet.

If you ever have thoughts and feelings you wish you didn’t, there’s a good chance you’re human.

But there are ways to put a stop to those thoughts and feelings, and that’s where Dr. Simon Marshall comes in.

A competitive triathlete and world-renowned sport psychology expert, Dr. Marshall helps endurance athletes train their brains to become happier and more mentally resilient.

Dr. Marshall is a former professor of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, former Director of the Graduate Program in Sport & Exercise Psychology at San Diego State University, and has published over 100 scientific articles on the psychology of exercise and has been cited in scientific literature over 10,000 times.

He’s currently the performance psychologist for the BMC Racing team, an elite WorldTour professional cycling team, and he’s also married to three-time world champion triathlete and his business partner Lesley Paterson.

Together, Dr. Marshall and Lesley make up Brave Heart Coaching where they help athletes strengthen both their bodies and minds.

The two also recently published a book calledThe Brave Athletein which they share actionable solutions to the most common mental barriers we runners face.

In this podcast, Dr. Marshall will share his tips for conquering the negative thoughts between us and our goals using “[butt]-kicking psychological weapons”. :)

*** This episode includes some bad language. If there are small ears around, you might want to listen with headphones! ***

He’s back! World renowned dietitian and exercise physiologist Bob Seebohar joins us again to delve deeper into the growing research surrounding his two concepts of metabolic efficiency training (MET) and nutrition periodization.

If you listened to Bob’s last interview with us, you know that together these concepts increase the body's ability to use fat as fuel during exercise and thus optimize both body composition and performance - a hard balance to strike for most distance runners.

If you missed that episode and like what you hear today, be sure to go back and give it a listenherefor some better context.

Bob is a registered dietitian, exercise physiologist, NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, USA Triathlon Level III Elite Coach. He also traveled to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games as a sport dietitian for the US Olympic Team and the personal sport dietitian/exercise physiologist for the Olympic Triathlon Team.

This time Bob’s back to answer YOUR questions and, in so doing, discuss everything from MET’s relationship with paleo and plant-based diets all the way to how you can go about determining your own metabolic efficiency.

Questions Bob is asked:

4:08 What do you do?

6:10 Can you remind us again about your concepts of Nutrition Periodization and Metabolic Efficiency Training?

10:21 Can you describe intuitive eating and how you help athletes attain that in combination with Metabolic Efficiency Training?

14:00 Can you describe what the Crossover Concept is?

23:41 How does the Metabolic Efficiency Test work?

28:20 Listener question from Yusef:Will I keep burning 60% fat at HR 150 bpm, at hour 28 of a 100miler?

39:55Listener question from Diana:As someone who eats a ton of almond and peanut butter. Is this a carb, a fat or a protein?

48:14Listener question fromChelsea:How does being vegan affect my metabolic efficiency and are there any tips for how can I improve this without giving up my lifestyle?

54:04 How do the Paleo Diet and High Fat / Low Carb diets fit in with Metabolic Efficiency Training?

57:13 Is it correct to assume you should increase carbs when in the thick of marathon training?

58:45Listener question fromDarlene:Is the Metabolic Efficiency lifestyle suitable for people with type 1 diabetes who use insulin pumps?

1:02:05 You offer personal consultations - what all do these entail and how can people work with you?

1:04:45 Where can listeners get a Metabolic Efficiency Test done?

Quotes by Bob:

“Metabolic efficiency is basically how efficient your body is at using its stores of carbohydrate and fat. Those are the two main stores of energy we have in our body, and you can actually train that.”

“The point where the body crosses from higher to lower fat burning and lower to higher carbohydrate burning - where those two macronutrients cross - is the ‘crossover point’, and in research, they found that to be between 63-65% of max intensity.”

“Metabolic efficiency is a great lifestyle nutrition program no matter what distance you’re training for.”

“It will be more difficult - not impossible, certainly - but it will be more difficult to balance blood sugar following a pure vegan diet than it will when you enter animal proteins, and it’s just because you’re having more carbohydrate than protein.”

Our guest this week is an incredible guitar player, amazing singer song-writer, and the best audio editor you could ask for, and I’m not just saying all that because he’ll be reading this while he edits the show. :)

If you haven’t already guessed, this week’s guest is none other than Run to the Top editor, Jeremy Noessel.

In addition to playing in 3 bands in the Rhode Island / Connecticut / Massachusetts area and working on several podcasts, Jeremy and his wife, Louise, are also writing an e-book for guitarists and musicians, will be soon launching a blog, and also planning his own podcast.

I’ve been wanting to have Jeremy on the show for some time now because his story is seriously one of a kind.

Jeremy started editing the podcast back when Tina Muir was hosting the show, and since then he’s not only helped us take the show to a whole new level, but the podcast has inspired him to start running again after about a 25-year hiatus.

Jeremy’s skill and incredible attention to detail is a large part of the reason Run to the Top is where it is today as Jeremy has not only improved the show’s audio quality tenfold, but, through constant guidance and constructive feedback, he’s also helped me become a better, more confident podcaster.

He is a true pleasure to work with, and I’m so excited to have him on the show today to share a little behind-the-scenes look at what goes into making Run to the Top, how the show inspired him to pick up running again, and the lessons he’s gained from editing both Run To The Top and our daily podcast, Extra Kick.

Questions Jeremy is asked:

4:43 What do you do with Run to the Top, when and how did you start?

6:25 What’s your favorite part about editing Run to the Top?

9:33 How did editing the podcasts lead to your return to running?

17:57 How did your first race go and how did you feel afterwards?

22:12 What are some of the mistakes you might have made if you started running without the podcasts?

26:30 Do you have any desire for future races, maybe the marathon?

30:19 How has the Run/Walk method helped you get back into running?

34:58 What other Run to the Top episodes you’ve worked on that have resonated with you and helped you?

38:29 What stood out to you in the Kelly Roberts interview?

41:43 How do you balance running with all of your bands and audio work?

43:20 How long does each podcast take you to edit and what’s involved?

48:40 Did you struggle at all when you first started running to juggle everything?

50:54 Where can listeners check out some of your videos, songs and available services?

52:54 Is making music what you enjoy the most?

53:18 Where do your bands play?

Quotes by Jeremy:

“I’ve had the benefit of having all of this information that I’ve gotten from the podcasts to avoid some of the common beginners’ pitfalls.”

“On the starting line I kept repeating to myself: 1. Have fun, 2. Don’t get hurt, 3. Start slow.”

“There was a point in time where I didn’t think I would ever NOT Run/Walk.”

“I have had really no formal instruction AT ALL; no formal coaching, so take anything I say with a grain of salt.”

“Running can’t be your everything. And really, nothing should be your everything.”

Michael Hammond is a graduate of Virginia Tech where he competed in cross country and track, earning two ACC titles and four NCAA All-American honors. His individual efforts led his team to four ACC team championships: one in cross country, two in indoor track, and one in outdoor track.

On this episode, Michael shares his perspective on, well… perspective.

Most runners are goal-focused, which is understandable considering the time and effort that goes into distance running.

But at what point does this single-mindedness become unhealthy? How can runners strike a balance between their running goals and the rest of the world, especially when blindsided by an illness or injury?

In his role as Director of Coaching for RunnersConnect, Michael has gotten to know every member, their motivations and exactly what support they need to receive from the coaches as well as from each other.

In this episode, he’ll also share a little about the support we need to give ourselves.

Questions Michael is asked:

3:57 What do you do at RunnersConnect?

5:16 What are some of the biggest mistakes runners make when it comes to longevity and mental health in the sport?

8:46 How can overemphasizing one performance be counterproductive?

14:14 How can runners achieve and maintain a positive mindset?

18:55 What other outlets did you have to balance out running?

25:32 How did you cope with injuries and take your mind off running when you weren’t able to go for a run?

32:15 Why is the ‘comparison trap’ so detrimental for runners?

38:23 What other tips do you have for runners to keep perspective and achieve longevity in the sport?

47:13 What’s on tap for you now that you’re on hiatus from running?

Quotes by Michael:

“I think you should really be running for your own reasons and for yourself.”

“A huge part of staying positive is putting things in perspective from a LIFE standpoint, not just a running standpoint.”

“Injuries will show you what your real priorities are.”

“I think it’s best for 99% of runners to completely ignore professional runners.”

“Some of the most proud feelings I ever had were when I was by myself, completely alone, after a great race and I just felt that tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment; that is what you should be training for.”

“If you’re 50 years old, you can’t compare yourself to when you were 25; it’s not fair to yourself.”

We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top.

The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use.

If more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, it means I can reach out to and get through to the top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!

Telling people that you run marathons usually prompts some dumbfounded expressions, but tell them you run ultras and, let’s face it, they’ll probably think you’re nuts. But that’s just a day in the life for Georgia native, Nathan Maxwell.

Like a lot of runners, Nathan started running to get in shape. He did a few 5K’s and then decided to try his hand at the half marathon. That was in 2012.

Since then, Nathan has completed 44 ultra marathons, 9 marathons, and 3 100 milers. He’s a self-proclaimed ultra junkie, and he loves sharing his adventures and promoting an active lifestyle on his blog and Twitter account under the name Social Shark.

On this episode, Nathan will share with us a little about his journey, how to transition from the marathon to ultras if you’re so inclined, and how to stoke the fire if you feel your passion for running starting to fizzle.

While running an ultra is no easy feat, it is manageable and possesses some surprisingly accessible entry points for those who want to dip their running toes in gently.

Questions Nathan is asked:

3:22 Can you tell us a little about yourself and what you do?

4:39 Where in South Carolina are you?

5:30 When and how did you get into running?

7:42 Was it love at first sight with ultra running?

10:33 How was the transition into ultra distance?

13:24 How do you train for ultras?

15:37 How do you avoid injury and fatigue with such a rigorous race schedule?

18:57 How can runners be more conscious of how to tune into what their body is telling them?

21:03 What advice do you have for runners who are struggling mentally with their training?

24:19 What advice would you give our listeners aspiring to transition from marathons to ultras?

29:00 How do you break down a 50-mile race in your head when considering race strategy?

34:27 How do you push past hitting the wall in a long race?

37:55 Your favorite mantra (which sits at the top of your website) is “When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble” (Proverbs 4:12 NLT). Can you tell us a little about this and why this is significant to you?

39:53 How did you come by the name Social Shark?

41:42 What did you set out to accomplish with your blog?

43:46 What would you consider to be your proudest achievement to date?

46:13 How did the Uwharrie 100 Miler go?

49:33 What’s next? Any big races on the horizon?

Quotes by Nathan:

“My weekly mileage isn’t quite as high as even typical marathon runners.”

“I really listen to my body and make sure I’m doing the right thing.”

“You can set smaller goals (like) ‘I’m gonna run a certain amount of miles in the next 30 days’”

“You’re not gonna run the same pace in a half-marathon that you would in a marathon. Just do the same thing as you move up to some type of ultra distance. Expect that you’re going to run slower.”

“Find an ultra that’s out there that’s a 6-hour ultra. The nice thing about those events is that they’re very relaxed very chill.”

“Being able to be mentally prepared and ahead of time saying, ‘I’m going out and doing this thing.’ It would be so much harder if you were going out there to only run 20 miles and then you got to the 20 mile mark and somebody said, ‘Just kidding! We’re actually doing FORTY today.’ That’s where, mentally, you’re going to be completely devastated and not be able to get through it.”

In her more than sixteen years coaching elite runners, Olympians, championship teams, executives, and entrepreneurs, world renowned performance psychologist Dr. Cindra Kamphoff has discovered these ten practices to be consistent among the world’s very best.

In her book,Beyond Grit: Ten Powerful Practices to Gain the High-Performance Edge, Dr. Kamphoff explains why each of these practices is important to discovering your purpose, “owning your why,” and boosting your performance through drive and grit, which Dr. Kamphoff argues prove more important than talent.

Dr. Kamphoff is the Director and Founder of the Center of Sport and Performance Psychology, founder of the High Performance Mindset Podcast, a professor in Performance Psychology at Minnesota State University, and a longtime marathoner.

Today Dr. Kamphoff will share with us a little about those 10 practices, and how we can develop them to achieve stronger, more confident running.

Questions Dr. Kamphoff is asked:

4:01 What sparked your passion for running and how did that turn into a career in Performance Psychology?

6:19 What inspired you to write your bookBeyond Grit?

10:14 What are the 10 Practices you discuss in your book?

17:14 Which of the 10 Practices have you had to work on the most?

19:22 How can runners benefit from knowing their own strengths and weaknesses and how can they identify them?

24:02 Why is “Grit” more powerful than “Gift”?

28:04 How can people keep their ‘Why” centered in their lives?

33:26 How did your experience at the 2013 Boston Marathon reinforce your “Why” and how did it change your approach to coaching?

39:16 How does your Beyond Grit workshop help people gain confidence and push past their comfort zone?

41:37 What else is in the works for you?

Quotes by Dr. Kamphoff:

“Grit really means staying passionate and persistent for your very long term goals.”

“Self-awareness is foundational to high performance, and it’s foundational to you being at your best consistently.”

“If you ‘think’ it, that’s not going to be as intentional, but if you ‘ink’ it, that’s really key.”

“I really like this quote by Simon [Sinek] - he said, ‘Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress, but working hard for something we love is called passion.’”

Author, coach, and nutritionist Matt Fitzgerald started running at the age of eleven when he completed the last mile of the 1983 Boston Marathon with his father (who had run the whole thing) and his two brothers.

By that time Matt was already a writer (specifically a comedic poet), having declared his intention to pursue a career in writing at the ripe age of nine.

He never changed his mind.

An expert on all things running, Matt especially loves to write about the psychology of running and has written several books and articles on the subject, including his popular bookHow Bad Do You Want It? Mastering the Psychology of Mind Over Muscle.

In this episode, Matt discusses what goes into a runner’s mental capacity and shares with us some tips as to how we can better push our limits.

It’s right there in the name, and most dietitians are devoted to helping people follow regulated diets that will, in theory, make them healthier.

Heather Caplan isn’t like most dietitians.

The certified running coach and host of the RD Real Talk podcast believes diets are nothing but counterproductive and that “diet culture” is full of hidden agendas and falsehoods detrimental to our wellbeing and mentality towards food.

Not just that, but dieting can go way too far, causing conditions like orthorexia in which an unhealthy fixation on eating healthy can lead to symptoms like hair loss, difficulty sleeping, chronic fatigue, anemia, and hypothyroidism.

You read that right. Too much healthy eating can be unhealthy.

That’s why Heather exercises a non-diet approach at her private practice in Washington, DC, helping runners relearn the “intuitive” eating that diet culture can make so foreign to us.

In this episode, Heather discusses the pitfalls of diets, shares her firsthand account with orthorexia, and gives us some tips on how to adopt intuitive eating for optimal health and performance.

It’s right there in the name, and most dietitians are devoted to helping people follow regulated diets that will, in theory, make them healthier.

Heather Caplan isn’t like most dietitians.

The certified running coach and host of the RD Real Talk podcast believes diets are nothing but counterproductive and that “diet culture” is full of hidden agendas and falsehoods detrimental to our wellbeing and mentality towards food.

Not just that, but dieting can go way too far, causing conditions like orthorexia in which an unhealthy fixation on eating healthy can lead to symptoms like hair loss, difficulty sleeping, chronic fatigue, anemia, and hypothyroidism.

You read that right. Too much healthy eating can be unhealthy.

That’s why Heather exercises a non-diet approach at her private practice in Washington, DC, helping runners relearn the “intuitive” eating that diet culture can make so foreign to us.

In this episode, Heather discusses the pitfalls of diets, shares her firsthand account with orthorexia, and gives us some tips on how to adopt intuitive eating for optimal health and performance.

Between injuries, mental ruts, and the curve balls life sometimes throws at us, finding long term success and remaining engaged in the sport can be incredibly difficult, and that’s why Jonathan Beverly’s new book is one every runner needs to read.

The book is calledRun Strong, Stay Hungry,and it reveals the habits and mentalities of more than 50veteran runners who are still running fast decades after they started.

A writer for Runner’s World and lifetime runner himself, Jonathan will give us a peek into the lives of runners like Bill Rodgers, Deena Kastor, and Joan Benoit Samuelson to show us what it takes to avoid burnout and achieve longevity in the sport - both physically and mentally.

P.S.Jonathan was kind enough to offer two lucky winners a signed copy ofRun Strong, Stay Hungry! If you’re interested, head on over torunnersconnect.net/giveaway. The contest will end at 12am EST November 2nd, 2017, so be sure to enter fast!

Now known as the “Acupuncturist for Skeptics”, Sarah Hammer Stevens wasn’t always a believer in this alternative therapy.

A longtime runner, Sarah was training for the Portland Marathon a few years ago when she sustained a knee injury that threatened to sideline her just weeks before the race.

Desperate to recover as quickly as possible, Sarah tried everything.

She consulted both her primary care doctor and an orthopedist but just wasn’t seeing any real improvement.

So, ready to try anything, Sarah decided to give acupuncture a shot, and she was glad she did.

After running pain-free to set a big PR, Sarah was excited to share the benefits of acupuncture with the world.

She quit her job to pursue a career in integrative health care, and she now enjoys helping runners like herself through her practice To the Point PDX in Portland, OR.

In this interview, Sarah will explain to us the intricacies of acupuncture, dispel the misconceptions that surround it, and share the reasons she believes every runner should give it a try.

Questions Sarah is asked:

4:09 Tell us about what you do and about your practice

5:13 What changed your mind about acupuncture and brought you into practicing?

8:40 How did you get into running?

10:59 How did the Hood to Coast Relays go for you?

11:51 How did the pop-up clinics go?

13:57 How often do you do these types of events?

14:52 What actually is acupuncture?

17:56 What are some of the funniest misconceptions you’ve encountered regarding acupuncture?

20:10 What’s the difference between dry needling and acupuncture?

23:32 How does acupuncture target problem areas?

25:27 How immediate are the effects of treatment?

27:44 What types of injuries are best treated with acupuncture?

29:21 Do chiropractors ever refer their patients to acupuncturists?

30:47 How has it been starting your own company?

33:01 Why do you think there haven’t been as many jobs for acupuncturists?

34:57 What’s the difference between acupuncture and Chinese medicine in general?

38:42 What exactly is cupping therapy and why do people use it?

41:08 Why is cupping so commonly done on athlete’s backs?

41:46 When do you advise people to get cupping therapy?

42:43 What does a general treatment course look like for an injured or sore runner?

44:28 How should people take the herbal supplements you recommend?

46:21 Who should use bone broth and when?

47:27 What’s next for you and your practice?

49:15 How can people outside of your location find a high quality acupuncturist in their area?

Quotes by Sarah:

“I went in, and I said, ‘I don’t believe this is gonna work. I don’t believe in holistic medicine. There’s no way that it can work, but I’m ready to try anything because I want to run this marathon.’ And lo and behold after the first treatment, my knee felt completely better.”

“You can read about [acupuncture], you can try to figure out how it works, but you have to just try it to really, really understand it.”

“People think [acupuncture] is a religion, and you have to believe in it and you have to be spiritual. And I’m like, ‘No. Absolutely not.’”

“We do mirror imaging: so we sometimes use the ankle to help the shoulder or we needle the ear to help the back.”

That’s what marathoner and writer Duncan Larkin argues in his book Run Simple: A Minimalist Approach to Fitness and Well-Being.

Duncan, who also writes for Outside Magazine, Competitor Magazine, Runner's World, ESPN, and Running Times, believes the best way to maximize running’s mental and physical benefits is to get back to the basics.

While the book is full of training regiments and advice for increasing quality over quantity, it starts off with one resounding message: ditch your gadgets.

According to Duncan, runners have become slaves to their electronic devices, and, believe it or not, this reliance can be detrimental to both performance and the very value of a training program.

In this interview, Duncan shares with us the principles of his simplistic training philosophy, a little about the coaches and runners who swear by it, as well as a sneak peek at his upcoming book, The 30-Minute Runner: Smart Training for Busy Beginners.

In 2009, Kelly Roberts was thrown into the deep end when she suddenly lost her younger brother, Scott.

Struggling to cope during this emotionally draining time, Kelly gained over 70 pounds by the end of the year, by which point she decided it was time for her to find a healthy way to work out her grief.

That’s when she found running.

8 years later, the sport has become invaluable to Kelly, and she now uses it to uplift thousands of others through her hilarious yet incredibly authentic blogRun, Selfie, Repeat.

Kelly continually strives to break the societal norms that insist what “strong” ought to look like, and she loves inspiring thousands of runners to pursue the best versions of themselves.

In this episode, Kelly shares with us what she’s learned through her own ongoing journey to self-acceptance as well as her tips to conquering the inhibitions that tie us down.

All, of course, with a healthy dose of hysterical laughter.

Questions Kelly is asked:

3:48 What prompted you to start running and what has that journey been like?

8:29 How has running impacted other aspects of your life?

10:24 What prompted you to start your ‘Hottie-Hunting’ selfies and how did that ignite your blog and fame on social media?

14:15 How has your blog evolved and where do you see it going in the next few years?

18:48 How quickly did #SportsBraSquad take off?

23:36 How has it been working with Oiselle and when did you start working with them?

28:39 Where do you think Oiselle is going to be in the next few years?

31:32 What challenges have you encountered with your running and how did you stay motivated?

35:18 What are you most proud of since you started this journey?

37:48 What would you tell a new runner who’s trying to break out of their comfort zone?

40:59 What would you say are some of the more common inhibitions that new runners may have?

43:11 Where do you see yourself as a runner in the next few years?

46:42 What can you tell us about the rebranding of your blog?

48:28 When will it launch?

Quotes by Kelly:

“Just because something is hard or just because something feels impossible doesn’t mean that you shouldn't try.”

“Being on a team makes you a stronger woman.”

“Running is about bringing people together and empowering them.”

“I think I can name on one hand the amount of people who actually know how to eat a healthy, balanced diet.”

The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use.

If more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, it means I can reach out to and get through to the top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!

One of the biggest advantages of running is that you don’t need a whole lot of equipment to do it.

But because we rely so heavily on the little equipment we do need, most of us would rather go for another run than try to choose between the wide array of activity trackers, GPS watches, and power meters available to us within the ever-growing sport tech market.

That’s where Ray Maker’s tech review blog,DC Rainmaker, can save you the time and energy not only picking the best product for you but also getting the absolute most out of that product.

A longtime runner and triathlete, Ray is arguably the most respected sport tech guru out there, and his climb to the top isn’t what you’d probably imagine.

During his spare time in high school, Ray started a one-man software company developing “programs” we now call apps - programs that garnered quite a lot of interest in Ray’s skills.

Long story short, Ray went directly from his high school graduation to a full-time career in technology consulting just 36 hours later.

Yeah. You might say he found his calling.

After 15 years working in the Fortune 500 world, Ray left his job at Microsoft to devote his time to a new passion: helping runners like himself optimize their performance by getting the most out of their gadgets.

From its honest product reviews to its exhaustive how-to guides, DC Rainmaker is an invaluable resource for runners everywhere, and Ray gives us an inside look in today’s episode.

Questions Ray is asked:

4:09 What prompted you to start running?

5:12 What difficulties did you experience on your way to your sub-3:00:00 marathon?

7:50 Are you training for anything right now?

9:21 What did you do before you began tech reviews and your blog?

10:35 How has your blog grown and evolved?

12:26 How does your local Parisian running community engage with you?

14:00 Are you recognized and stopped when you’re back home?

16:41 What does “DC Rainmaker” mean?

18:01 How much time do you devote to reviewing a product?

19:14 How can fitness trackers be used for running and which ones are the best?

21:28 Do you think there are discrepancies between different software platforms and, if so, why?

23:43 Why is there so much variability with accuracy, even with devices from the same manufacturer and what environmental conditions may pose challenges for accurate data capture?

26:38 Which Garmin do you believe has the highest Bang-For-Buck ratio?

28:43 How does Optical Heart Rate monitoring differ from traditional methods and is it more accurate?

31:01 How much weight do you assign to using heart rate for pace-setting?

33:06 What are some of the pros and cons of the Apple Sport Watch, Garmin and GPS Watches and what would you recommend overall?

37:04 What other tips can you share to get more accurate data from our devices?

38:51 How can we prolong the lives of our running watches?

40:04 What is your opinion on power meters and how do they differ from GPS watches?

43:24 Do you think running by power units will ultimately replace running by heart rate?

45:29 Are power and heart rate best used in conjunction with each other?

45:37 What is the most common question runners ask you on your website?

46:45 What’s next for DC Rainmaker?

Quotes by Ray:

“If you’ve got all your friends on Fitbit, then get a Fitbit device. If you’ve got all your friends on Garmin, then get a Garmin device - for activity tracking anyway.”

“For runners, you may want to use an activity tracker actually differently, which is to focus on recovery….because [fitness trackers] can hold you to kind of a limit, so say instead of trying to walk 10,000 steps today, I’m going to try to keep it below two or three thousand steps today.”

“How different watches have their antennas designed usually around the face of the watch or the base of the watch is without the question the biggest thing that will impact accuracy on that watch.”

“I’d say the biggest bang for your buck right now is probably the vivoactive HR or the new vivoactive 3 that was just announced.”

“I think like anything else, you want to keep doing new and innovative things. And so as different areas of the market place stagnate or kind of become the same, I’m going to find other areas to dig into - whether that be running power or running efficiency metrics or whatever it may be - I’m going to dig deeper into those areas and see what pops out of them.”

The best way you can show your support for the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends on social media andleave a rating/review on iTunes.

This not only helps us reach more runners like yourself, but it also allows us to bring on more of the sport’s leading minds to make the podcast as helpful and entertaining as possible. If you have a couple minutes to do this we truly appreciate it!

Contrary to popular belief, losing or even maintaining weight while training for a marathon can be incredibly difficult.

Many marathoners either find they can’t quite achieve the weight loss they want, or, on the flipside, they’re able to lose weight, but at the cost of performance.

It’s a hard balance to strike, but with the latest research it’s becoming much easier.

The research in question revolves around the two concepts of Nutrition Periodization and Metabolic Efficiency Training. Together they increase the body's ability to use fat as fuel during exercise and thus optimize both body composition and performance.

Joining us in this episode is Bob Seebohar, the creator of these two concepts.

Bob is a registered dietitian, exercise physiologist, NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, USA Triathlon Level III Elite Coach. He also traveled to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games as a sport dietitian for the US Olympic Team and the personal sport dietitian/exercise physiologist for the Olympic Triathlon Team.

In this episode, Bob walks us through his findings on dietary efficiency and sheds some light on how best to achieve both the body composition and race day results you’re after.

Oh and for those wondering, here’s a breakdown of the “alphabet soup” behind Bob’s name:

M.S.- Bob has three college degrees. His undergraduate is inExercise and Sport Science. His two graduate/Master's degrees are inHealth and Exercise Science, andFood Science and Human Nutrition. He successfully defended two theses during his graduate studies and knows his way around interpreting research and aligning it with real-life applications.

R.D.-Registered Dietitian. A college degree studying food science and human nutrition is required to be able to sit for this national examination. Of course, this is after successfully completing a 9 - 12-month nutrition internship after graduation.

C.S.S.D.-Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics. A certification only given to Registered Dietitians who have years of experience working with athletes. A rigorous national examination must be passed and frequent continuing education credits upheld to acquire and maintain this certification.

C.S.C.S.-Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialistthrough the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Bob has worked as a trainer/strength coach since the mid 1990's and specializes in creating strength programs for endurance athletes.

7:45 What is Metabolic Efficiency Training and how does it relate to your concept of Nutrition Periodization?

11:50 How does Nutrition Periodization come into play with all the training variability runners experience?

14:34 How does Metabolic Efficiency Training work with runners who are trying to lose weight while increasing performance?

21:43 Why does eating become less intuitive to us over time?

24:40 How difficult is it for your athletes to change their nutrition philosophy?

27:45 How can runners adjust their macronutrient intake ratios to use fat as fuel more efficiently?

32:40 What is your opinion of Low-Fat, High-Carb and other ‘extreme’ diets?

39:01 Have you been able to get significant research yet into the role genetics plays with this?

40:39 Is the long-term goal to see where trends are and individualize athletes’ diets based on gender, genetics, etc.?

45:14 Has there been any research on Nutrition Periodization and how it relates to menstrual cycles and menopause?

47:06 What do you mean by the ‘Metabolic Efficiency Point’?

53:28 How would someone go about manipulating this efficiency point via nutrition?

56:54 Is it hard to do Metabolic Efficiency Training with Vegan, Vegetarian and Paleo diets?

1:00:50 Do you offer personal consultations?

Quotes by Bob:

“Even for the leanest of the lean marathon runner, these elites that are almost breaking the 2-hour barrier, they still have about 30,000 calories of fat in their body but we’re very limited in our carbohydrate stores.”

“Metabolic Efficiency Training is really looking at the opportunity to use the fat that we have stored already, preserve our very limited carbohydrate stores and do that by altering the daily nutrition plan.”

“Nutrition Periodization is simply combining the right type and amount of nutrition to support physical training. So when you’re going through the ebbs and flows of physical training (running), you go through ebbs and flows of nutritional support.”

“The best thing about Metabolic Efficiency Training is that it’s not a diet. The worst thing about it is that it’s not a diet.”

“When we’re young kids, we have this intuitive eating; we eat when we’re hungry, we stop when we’re not hungry. …The environment shapes us… into becoming less intuitive eaters and more either habitual eaters… or (more) emotional eaters.”

If you’ve ever been out running by yourself and felt a little unsafe, you’ve likely either had to change your route or cut the run short to head to a more secure environment.

This fear is one many runners know well, and that’s why runners David and Ellen Caren decided it was time to invent something that could offer peace of mind and keep runners safe.

Run Angel is the first personal safety wrist wearable that not only sends SMS messages and emails to loved ones in the event of an emergency, but it also emits a 120 decibel, high-pitched siren when activated to shock unsuspecting attackers and notify passersby of your whereabouts.

In this episode, David shares how the idea, company, and product were developed, as well as some additional safety tips all runners should keep in mind.

To get a Run Angel for you or a loved one, go to runangel.com and use coupon code RUNCON20 for 20% off your purchase.

Questions David is asked:

4:28 Can you tell us a little about your background? How did you first get into running?

6:05 How are the running venues in County Cork, Ireland?

8:45 What prompted you and your wife, Ellen, to launch Run Angel?

12:44 What’s it been like to start your own company and were there any hiccups along the way?

16:10 What was the prototype phase like for such a unique device?

20:20 How loud is 120 decibels?

22:11 What was / is the testing process like?

23:41 How does the silent alarm / Guardian Alert system work?

26:07 What sets Run Angel apart from other wearables on the market?

29:13 How is the device powered?

32:59 What other advice do you have for staying safe while running?

37:09 Is it not enough to simply be aware of your surroundings if you wear earphones when running?

39:19 How did you expand your market to the US through the Ignite Start-Up Program?

42:24 Is Run Angel available globally and how can people buy it?

45:21What is Run Angel working on now?

Quotes by David:

“No matter where you run, you still have that sense of vulnerability that something could happen or you could fall down or trip over something.”

“I was knocked to the ground by someone who wasn’t obviously out running, and instead of exchanging apologies and helping each other up, this guy just ran back in the direction he came from.”

“I remember having aspirations of bringing Run Angel out in 12 months and we were quickly told that you’d want to add 2-3 years onto that and we kind of snickered at that. But it did take that long.”

“When you’re dealing with a safety wearable, you’re dealing with a life element.”

“(Other wearable safety tech) isn’t notifying your attacker that you’ve just activated anything other than you’ve let nearest and dearest know that you’ve been attacked or had a fall.”

“Once we reached the threshold of 120 decibels, we went back and said, ‘OK, can we tune this frequency so that it will resonate in the human hearing zone?’”

“120 decibels is DISTRACTINGLY loud and that’s the goal. It is LOUD.”

“Each Run Angel is put into an acoustic chamber and it’s sound tested, so before it goes into a box we make a record of what the sound is.”

“There’s a few clever things you can do with Run Angel with or without the sound and a few remote activities you can do as well.”

“In the event of an attack, you have to know where your safety wearable is and the wrist is the first place you will invariably go to.”

Astudypublished by RunRepeat.com, an independent review aggregator for running shoes, analyzed 34,680,750 race results over the course of 21 years to conclude that American runners are steadily getting slower across distances from the 5K up to the marathon.

We know what you’re probably thinking: with Olympians like Galen Rupp and Molly Huddle continually setting national records, how can that be?

While it’s clear US elites are steadily advancing, the study found that the remainder of the field is, on the whole, slower than it was in the 90s.

Now this could be due to a variety of reasons, and some argue one of those reasons might just be that the sport has gained a lot of popularity in the last couple decades.

More runners of varying age and gender? We like the sound of that.

While this is certainly plausible, others argue there’s another, less favorable culprit behind the trend: the rising rate of obesity in America.

This is the hypothesis behind the study in question led by Danish statistician, runner, and founder of RunRepeat.com Jens Jakob Andersen.

While Jens believes the correlation between slowing race times and the deteriorating health in America is too close to deny, he’s quick to remind us that correlation is not causation.

When it comes to statistics, Jens says it’s always easier to debunk something that’s not true rather than prove something that is, and that’s exactly what he aims to do in this episode.

Listen in and decide for yourself. Whichever way you end up leaning, you’re bound to learn something interesting about yourself and your fellow runner along the way.

Questions Jens is asked:

2:28 Tell us about yourself and how did you become passionate about running?

4:30 What prompted you to start RunRepeat and what does your day-to-day entail?

7:02 How is RunRepeat’s Run Score calculated?

11:23 How should runners go about choosing a shoe that’s really right for them?

12:32 What did you find in your study of American runners becoming slower and what do you think the implications are?

21:43 Could it be that there just aren’t as many Americans in the top 1% to compensate for the greater number of people towards the back of the pack?

23:38 What would it take for Americans to reverse this trend?

27:02 Where are some of these Blue Zones located?

27:41 In your study on marathon results, what were some of the key takeaways you saw and what did the study entail?

31:58 Why do you think there has been such an increase in female runners over 50 taking up running within the last decade ?

33:38 Why do you think men tend to go out faster than they probably should when racing?

35:38 Why do you think runners ages 35-45 make the best pacers?

37:02 Based on the studies you’ve done, what advice would you give us on tackling our next marathon?

39:42 What’s next with you at RunRepeat?

Quotes by Jens:

“It bothered me how 90 percent of people bought the same five pairs of running shoes, and I thought, ‘Why is this happening?’ It’s happening because these brands...promote specific models, and so there becomes a hype around specific models.”

“We looked at the finisher number (number 100, number 1,000, number 2,000, number 5,000) for each race distance, and what we found was that across this all were getting slower.”

“Americans (as well as most other nations) are getting more and more obese, and their finish times are getting slower. But this is a correlation: two parameters that follow each other. It’s not necessarily a causation….So this is our hypothesis, but we cannot conclude it for sure with 100 percent certainty.”

The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use.

If more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, it means I can reach out to and get through to the top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!

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